Push to keep wife killer Gerard Baden-Clay behind bars for life under parole reforms

‘He’s a heinous killer, he’s never shown remorse and he should never be released.’

Convicted wife killer Gerard Baden-Clay will spend the rest of his life in prison if the lawmaker in charge of parole has anything to do with it.

In an exclusive interview, Queensland’s Corrective Services Minister Laura Gerber revealed even if the parole board decided to release him, which was unlikely given the tough new conditions to be legislated later in the year, the state government still held one more trump card.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Wife killer Gerald Baden-Clay faces more prison time under new parole laws

“My personal opinion is that he should never be released, and these laws make it very, very difficult for him to get parole,” she told 7NEWS.

“He’s a heinous killer, he’s never shown remorse and he should never be released.

“Life should be life — parole is a privilege not a right.”

Under new law reforms, the parole board will have to consider victim submissions, the judge’s sentencing remarks and whether they have an anti-social or personality disorder.

“Things like narcissistic personality disorder, whether they’re a coercive controller, and any psychiatric or psychological assessments,” Gerber said.

The ongoing attitude by authorities that many domestic violence killings were “crimes of passion” and a one-off “snap” decision by the perpetrator without intent or premeditation was debunked by global experts in the 7NEWS hit podcast Kiss & Kill.

Shortly after publishing a double episode on Baden-Clay and how his actions fit the “homicide timeline” created by internationally renowned criminologist Dr Jane Monckton-Smith, tens of thousands of people signed a petition against his possible parole next year.

A former criminal barrister, Gerber said she was tired of seeing dangerous criminals continually given parole partly because the parole board didn’t need to consider victim submissions and sentencing remarks by judges.

In his remarks, Justice John Byrne was very clear that decision-makers should view Baden-Clay’s parole applications with “scepticism”.

He sentenced him to life imprisonment with 15 years non-parole, which was the maximum at the time.

“The prisoner always got the opportunity to say what they thought and what they think, and quite often, if you’ve got a narcissistic personality disorder, they can’t be trusted,” she said.

“Prior to this reform, there was no statutory framework or laws around what the parole board must consider.”